BALDIGA – ENTSICHERTES HERZ

In the organizer's words:

FRG 2024, documentary film, 92 min, FSK 16

Director: Markus Stein

With: Bernd Gaiser, Juliette Brinkmann, Birgit Baldiga, part-time princess Linette

Language: OmeU (German with English subtitles)

Jürgen Baldiga has just moved to West Berlin in 1979 and decides to become an artist. He works as a hustler and cook, writes poems and a diary. With his HIV infection, he discovers photography in 1984. His pictures are intended to stop time and capture reality: They show his friends and lovers, wild sex and, time and again, the lusty faggots of the gay club SchwuZ, who become his family of choice. Between despair and desire, rebellion and an irrepressible will to survive, Baldiga becomes a chronicler of West Berlin's subculture in the face of his own imminent death.

Through Baldiga's poetic diaries and unsparing images, as well as the memories of his companions, the film shows the artist as more than just a pioneering photographer. When he died in 1993 at the age of 34, he left behind a unique artistic legacy against the stigmatization of AIDS and gay lifestyles.

ENG: West Berlin 1979. Jürgen Baldiga has just moved to the city and decides to become an artist. He works as a prostitute and cook, writes poems and a diary. In 1984, when he is infected with HIV, he discovers photography. His pictures show his friends and lovers, wild sex and the lustful parties at club SchwuZ, where he finds his chosen family. Between desperation and desire, rebellion and an irrepressible will to survive, Baldiga becomes a chronicler of West Berlin's subculture in the face of his own imminent death. Through Baldiga's poetic diaries and unsparing images as well as the memories of companions, the film shows the artist not only as a groundbreaking photographer but an activist against the stigmatization of AIDS and gay lifestyles. (German with English subtitles)

Price information:

- 7.00 € (regular) - 5.50 € (reduced*) - 3.50 € (with Leipzig Pass, disabled pass, volunteer pass) - Films longer than 130 min: + 1.00 € - Tickets are available online (plus € 0.70 booking fee), remaining tickets at the Box Office.